


Statira

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [19]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, Babies, Cancer, F/M, Meteor infections, Mystery informants, Surprise Guests - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24239362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe and Oliver are in France to finally meet their informant, but they are in for not one, but several surprises.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan, Secret Pairing
Series: Moving Targets [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179





	1. Chapter 1

**Queen Jet -- May 6, 2011**

They weren’t supposed to land in Paris for another hour or so and Chloe was both restless and confused. She was restless because she wanted to get this over with and because she was incredibly worried about how the drive from Paris to Arcachon, which was in the middle of rural France was going to affect Oliver and his injury. 

She hadn’t even tried to argue with him to get him to stay, she knew it was pointless. So they decided that Bart would meet them there next morning-- so Ollie could rest a little before they went to see their informant, finally-- because Bart could not stand to be in a plane for over eight hours.

And she was confused because of the location their mysterious informant had chosen. “It makes no sense,” Chloe told him, sitting down on the edge of the small airplane bed, his head on her lap as she held a small touch pad in her hand, checking again on the location, “the address they gave us is a villa, in the middle of rural France, a tiny little town, a tourist destination filled with bed and breakfasts, who would set up _there_?” She asked, shaking her head. The location was so remote, the only place they managed to book a room at was a bed and breakfast, the biggest one in the area, in fact, that had a total of seven rooms. 

He glanced up from his laptop and looked over at her with a small smile. “Clearly someone that no one else would ever think to suspect?” he suggested. 

“Clearly,” she said, sighing deeply and placing the pad down on the small table next to her then resting her hand over his hair, “that still doesn’t make any sense, we’ve looked into every possibility before and none of them were this informant. I have _no_ idea who else could be.” And that was the most frustrating part of all.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t know either,” he admitted. “But it looks like we’ll find out soon enough.” 

“Hopefully it won’t be a bad surprise,” Chloe said with a sigh and ran her fingers through his hair unconsciously.

He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. “Had enough of those lately.” 

“Seriously,” she pursed her lips together and looked down at him, watching him for a moment, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m all right,” he said softly. 

Chloe nodded and reached over, taking his laptop from him and setting it on the small table too, “get some rest while you can, we don’t know how the drive to that place will be.”

He was quiet for a moment, and then he shifted slightly, resting his head on her legs as he opened his eyes to look at her.

She raised her eyebrows a little and smiled softly, “I tell you to rest and you open your eyes?”

Oliver grinned up at her, meeting her eyes. “I can’t sleep on command, you know.” 

“We should work on that,” she told him with a smirk.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m open to suggestions, Professor.”

“Oh no, you’re not,” she told him, giving him a look, “you can’t tense the muscles in your stomach, there are no suggestions that wouldn’t include that.”

“Who said I was only talking about sexual suggestions?” He shook his head a little. “You know, you have a dirty mind, Chloe.” He smirked.

“Please,” she told him, smirking back, “I know you and I know that look on your face.”

Oliver grinned brightly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Uh huh,” she smirked then leaned down, kissing him softly then pulling back enough to whisper against his lips, “rest.”

“You should, too,” he whispered back. 

“I’m comfortable,” she assured him, smiling softly and adjusting on her seat.

He gazed up at her intently. “Chloe?” 

“Yeah?” She asked quietly, looking down at him.

“I love you,” he whispered, holding her gaze. 

Chloe relaxed a little and held his gaze back, she wasn’t sure why, but he kept looking at her in a different way, and normally she’d just assume he was about to strip her down and have his way with her, but it was different, she just couldn’t tell how, “I love you too.”

He smiled softly, letting his eyes drift shut as he exhaled slowly. He was going to marry her. She just didn’t know it yet. 

**Bed and Breakfast, France -- May 6, 2011**

Just as Chloe expected from her research, the place was tiny, their room was a good sized room and if the circumstances were different, she would have been more than happy to spend time alone with Oliver there, but she was restless. 

“Well, at least I’m pretty sure the entire town would know within minutes if they tried to kill us,” Chloe told him as she helped him get into bed.

“As small as the town is, they might all be in on it,” he responded, wincing a little and resting a hand on his stomach as he lay back in the bed.

Chloe winced when he did and frowned, “is it bad?”

“If the whole town is in on it?” His eyebrows furrowed a little. 

“No,” she rolled her eyes a little, “your injury, is it hurting a lot?”

“Oh.” He glanced over at her. “I’m all right.” 

Chloe considered him for a moment then nodded, “okay, well, I will order us some room service and then we’ll get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow, okay?” She was no master of French, but she had taken enough of it in school that she thought she could manage to place an order without completely screwing it up.

“No snails,” he murmured, closing his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“I’ll do my best,” she told him, picking up the menu and raising her eyebrows a little, she was about to say something when her phone beeped from her purse.

He opened his eyes once more, sitting up a little as he turned his head to look at her.

“Don’t sit up,” she warned him, catching the movement out of the corner of her eyes as she started digging through her purse, then finally pulling her phone out of her purse and frowning, “welcome,” she read the text, “lunch tomorrow, at noon. Just the two of you.”

“That’s somehow welcoming and ominous at the same time,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“Yeah...” she pursed her lips together, “we’re obviously still being watched, should we tell Bart to stay or come in case we need to run?”

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I think he should be close by. Just in case.” 

“I agree,” Chloe placed her phone back inside her purse and picked the menu up again before making her way over to the bed, “I just don’t get how someone can be watching us so closely without having us bugged.”

“I don’t know either, but it’s unsettling.” He sighed softly. And assuming they lived through this meeting, he intended to find out just _how_ this informant was keeping such a close eye on them and make sure no one could ever repeat the performance. 

She sat down on the side of the bed that was usually hers and nodded, “very, I think I will wait until Bart gets here tomorrow morning to talk to him, maybe we will have a better chance of not being ‘overheard’ that way.”

“I’m going to invest in a Queen Industries brand of scramblers,” he murmured. 

Chloe smirked a little at that and leaned down, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “we don’t want anyone else to get a hold of our scramblers though, so I would be against that particular investment.”

“Well, I could just have them for our little group of superheroes and not for the general public.” 

“True,” Chloe smirked and raised her eyebrows, “maybe you and Bruce should work on something _together_ ,” she teased, looking down at the menu innocently.

And that earned her a genuine _pout_. “Funny,” he grumbled.

She didn’t say anything, she simply picked up the phone and placed their order with little struggle then hung up the phone, “you can’t still be pouting about Bruce Wayne,” she told him.

“The guy took you out on a date.” 

Chloe blinked, looking over at him in surprise, “no he didn’t.”

“Oh, yes, yes he did.” He looked back at her with a pitiful look on his face.

“No, he didn’t,” she repeated, “we went to dinner, and _you_ were also invited,” she pointed out, laying down next to him and propping herself up on her elbow as she turned on her side.

“ _You_ invited me. Bruce didn’t. In his mind, he took you on a date.” 

“Well, then it must have been the worst date he’s ever been on,” Chloe pointed out and raised her eyebrows, “because when we weren’t talking about work, we were talking about you.”

At that, Oliver paused, staring at her. “You talked about me?” 

She gave him a look and raised her eyebrows, “what else do you think we would have talked about?”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “Well, I figured he probably would have spent a great deal of time complimenting you, for one.” 

“Well, I don’t think he did,” she said, pursing her lips and thinking about it then shrugging, “and if he did, I wasn’t paying attention.”

He grinned. “Because you were too busy thinking about me?” 

She shifted closer to him on the bed and raised her eyebrows, “brought you dinner, didn’t I?”

“True.” He brushed his nose against hers. 

Chloe smiled and pressed her lips to his for a second, “and, he paid for your food too.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Maybe he felt guilty for trying to steal you away from me,” he teased.

She grinned and shook her head, laying a leg on top of his and raising her eyebrows, “he could try everything he wanted, it wouldn’t have worked.”

Oliver lifted a hand to her cheek, kissing her softly. “Good to know,” he whispered. 

Chloe smiled softly and nodded, “so you have no reason to pout.”

“Well, I hate to tell you this, but I’ll probably pout every time some other guy flirts with you,” he informed her.

She raised her eyebrows and considered him for a moment, “how is that fair? If I was supposed to pout every time some woman started hitting on you, I would never _not_ pout.”

He grinned, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, but you’re the only one I want.” 

Chloe wrapped her arm across his chest and rested her forehead against his, “well, it works both ways.”

“Fair enough,” he said after a moment, kissing her once more. 

She returned the kiss and hugged him, careful not to move him or hurt him somehow as she shifted even closer and pressed herself against his side. 

A small smirk crossed his face as he nuzzled her nose with his and slid a hand slowly down her side and down to her hip, sliding lower until it reached the outside of her thigh. 

Chloe stilled a little and reluctantly pulled back, “don’t even think about it.” It was hard enough to stop herself without him touching her. 

“Way too late for that one, Professor,” he murmured, kissing her jaw. 

“Ollie, I’m serious,” she told him even as she closed her eyes and shivered, she missed him. A lot. “we can’t risk you hurting yourself more, especially not with us having to go meet whoever it is we’re meeting tomorrow.”

He smiled as she shivered. “Trust me,” he whispered. “What I have in mind won’t hurt either of us. Promise.” He kissed her throat.

Chloe pulled away from him and shook her head, placing her hand over the one he had on her thigh, “tomorrow, after we get our answers, we can consider this.”

Oliver searched her eyes, then sighed softly, reluctantly sliding his hand back up to settle against her hip. “You drive a hard bargain,” he murmured, kissing her.

She cupped his face and pressed a kiss to his temple before leaning back and laying down on her pillow, “I just want you to be okay, and trust me, this isn’t any easier on me.”

He watched her for a moment, then kissed her shoulder before laying his head on the pillow beside her. He rested his hand on her stomach. “I know.” 

Chloe dropped her hand to his arm and smiled a little, “I think we have an addiction,” she teased softly.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “I assume you mean to each other.” 

“What else could I mean?” She asked, cocking her head slightly.

He shrugged a little, watching her carefully. “Well, personally this is one addiction I don’t intend to ever recover from,” he said casually.

She grinned a little and sighed deeply, pressing a kiss to his shoulder then closing her eyes, “glad we have similar goals.”

A soft smile touched his lips at that, and he relaxed a little, tucking some hair behind her ears. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered. 

“Just relaxing until the food gets here,” she told him quietly, not opening her eyes. 

He rested his head against hers. “Right,” he murmured, having forgotten completely about dinner. 

“Just relax,” she whispered to him, wrapping her arm around him again. It was better to try and relax than to be tempted to do things that could possibly make things worse for him.

Relaxing was a lot easier said than done when you were contemplating asking someone to marry you, he thought idly, even as he felt sleep tugging at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**12 Avenue Louis Garros -- 33120 Arcachon, May 7, 2011**

Oliver stood tensely on the doorstep of the home they’d been instructed to show up at the evening before. He glanced sideways at Chloe, then reached out silently and rang the doorbell, his expression neutral. 

Chloe looked at him for a moment and pursed her lips together then glanced over her shoulder, catching just a glimpse of red behind some trees, where Bart stood. She wanted to reach out and take Ollie’s hand, but resisted the urge, her stomach was tight as they waited, luckily not for long before she could hear footsteps. 

Seconds later, the door was open and Chloe was staring at an incredibly familiar face, her eyes widening comically as she saw the last person she expected to find there. 

Oliver studied the man who stood before them, but remained stoic, silent, missing Chloe’s startled expression.

“ _Pete_?” She said finally, staring at him for a full moment. He looked tired, but otherwise, exactly like he had last time they had seen each other. 

“Could work on your greeting, Chlo,” he told her, holding his arms open. 

She let out her breath and smiled, not even hesitating before stepping closer and hugging him tightly. 

Okay, he hadn’t been expecting _that_. Oliver stared at the two of them with a fair amount of surprise that he usually didn’t exhibit. “Pete?” he echoed after a moment. “High school friend Pete?” 

“One and the same,” he told Oliver, holding out his hand once he let go of Chloe. 

He blinked a couple of times, then shook the other man’s hand uncertainly. 

Pete stepped aside, making room for them to walk into the house, “come on in.” 

Chloe reached for Ollie’s hand and nodded at him a little, she still had as many questions as she did five minutes ago, but if Pete was involved in this, then she knew they were safe. 

Oliver could feel Chloe relax as she took his hand and followed Pete inside the house. “This is...not what we expected,” he said, glancing between the friends. 

“I know,” Pete told them, smiling a little, “but I can’t take any of the credit for it, I just do what I’m told.” 

Frowning slowly, Chloe cocked her head and looked at Pete for a long moment then shook her head, “enough with the mystery, what is going on, Pete? Why didn’t you tell me it was you?”

Oliver cocked an eyebrow too. “You do what you’re told? Told by whom?” 

At that moment, the sound of a baby crying wafted in from the other room. 

Pete glanced over his shoulder then smirked, looking at Chloe after a moment, he couldn’t miss her reaction, “that’s mini me, come with me.”

If Chloe’s eyes had been wide before, it was nothing compared to now, “you have a _kid_?” She asked, following him down the hallway. 

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck as they followed Pete down the hallway, and he froze as he spotted a picture of Pete in a tuxedo with his apparent bride. “Uh...” 

Chloe paused when Oliver stopped moving, her hand still in his and she raised her eyebrows, “what is it?”

He bit his lip and shook his head a little, nodding toward Pete once more as he tried to wrap his brain around the picture he’d just seen. 

“I think he’s just hungry,” a familiar voice said as Pete led the way into the back bedroom. 

She heard the voice, but didn’t place it right away, taking a few more steps with Oliver into the bedroom, she blinked at the scene in front of her: Pete was standing by a crib, reaching in and picking the baby up carefully, and the woman who was laying in bed, watching him was none other than Lana Lang. Luthor. Well, maybe Ross now. 

“Chloe,” Lana said softly, a small, tired smile on her face. “Oliver. Long time no see.” 

Pete turned around to face them again, smiling at one of his oldest friend as he rocked his six month old son gently, “surprise.” 

“You can say that again,” Chloe told him, smiling softly at him then at Lana. Lana, of course it was Lana. Who else hated and wanted revenge on Lex Luthor more than his former bride? And knew all of their secrets as well as having the technology to access information. Chloe had seen what Lana had done with Isis. 

But the fact that Lana was in bed and hadn’t gotten up when the baby started crying didn’t go unnoticed by Chloe and now that she was looking at the other woman more carefully, she looked everything but healthy. 

It hadn’t taken Oliver long to come to the same conclusion and he looked from Lana to Pete and then back again. “I can’t say this was expected,” he told her, lacing his fingers through Chloe’s. 

“I know,” Lana admitted, struggling to sit up a little more, but not succeeding. “We’ve had to be very careful.” She looked at the baby snuggled in her husband’s arms. 

Chloe did her best not to wince as she saw Lana trying to sit up, and glanced back at Pete at the baby when she did, “I can see why.” 

Pete glanced down at Lana once the baby stopped crying, “I think he just wanted attention,” he motioned to a couple of chairs in the corner of the room with his head, “you guys can sit down, if I know Chloe, she’s about to fire off five hundred questions.”

A small smile touched Oliver’s mouth at that and he glanced sideways at her. “Sounds about right,” he said lightly, giving her hand a squeeze and then letting go long enough to pull a couple of chairs closer to the bed. 

“Well, can you blame me?” Chloe asked Pete, smirking slightly as she sat down on one of the chairs, thanking Ollie as she did. “I guess I already know why you didn’t tell me who you were before,” Chloe said, looking between the couple then at the baby, “you didn’t want to risk anyone, more specifically Lex, coming after you.” 

“I’m sorry we were so cryptic,” Lana said sincerely. “You have no idea how much I wanted to make sure you knew that it was us so you knew we were really just trying to help.” 

Chloe’s face softened a little at Lana and she nodded, “I’m just relieved it was you and not someone else that had been watching us so closely.”

“You should be,” Pete said raising an eyebrow, “and even more relieved that Luthor has got nothing on the Rosses,” he added with a smirk as he sat down on the bed next to Lana.

“Apparently neither does the Justice League,” Oliver said with faint amusement, raising an eyebrow at the Rosses and then at Chloe. 

Lana smiled, keeping her eyes on Chloe. “I wouldn’t say that.” 

Chloe caught it and raised her eyebrows, only then noticing the wedding rings on their fingers, “there was a wedding and I wasn’t invited to? Now I’m just hurt.”

“We eloped,” Lana explained. “We didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves under the circumstances.” She hesitantly held her hand out toward Chloe. 

She looked at Lana for a moment, her expression softening as she reached over and took her hand, “how are you doing?” Chloe asked quietly, squeezing her hand gently. Last time she’d seen Lana, she had just been infected with Kryptonite and had gained all of Clark’s powers and then some. She was invincible and now she looked incredibly fragile and Chloe knew it wasn’t good. 

At Chloe’s question, Pete looked away and concentrated on the baby in his arms. 

Oliver held his breath, watching the regret and sadness flicker over Lana’s face, then watched as she grew still, almost peaceful. 

“I’m dying,” she said softly. 

Chloe swallowed hard and her chest tightened, she glanced over at Pete for a second then back at Lana, “what happened?”

Oliver squeezed her hand a little more tightly, his eyes sad. 

“Apparently the human body can only handle so much Kryptonite,” she explained tiredly. “It changed the structure of my DNA completely, and when it did, it mutated and...” She paused. “Cancer.” 

Pursing her lips together, Chloe shifted to the edge of the bed, squeezing Ollie’s hand for a moment then letting go of it and taking Lana’s hand in both of her, “there has to be something we can do.” 

Pete kept his eyes on the baby but shook his head, “we tried everything, Chlo.” 

Oliver paused, looking over at Pete. “I employ a doctor on our staff. Emil Hamilton. He’s very familiar with Kryptonite and meta-humans.”

Chloe nodded, glancing at Ollie hopefully then back at Lana, “we could have him here in five minutes, we just have to ask Bart to go pick him up.”

Lana closed her eyes for a moment as tiredness swept over her. “I’ve seen so many doctors already,” she murmured. 

“Not like Emil,” Chloe told Lana, squeezing her hand a little, “he knows how to deal with kryptonite better than anyone else, he’s been researching it closely for years and he’s the one who takes care of the team.” 

Pete watched Chloe as she spoke and adjusted the baby in his arms, “it might be worth looking into one more,” he told his wife quietly.

Lana opened her eyes and turned her head to look at their son. Then she met his eyes. “One more,” she whispered, squeezing Chloe’s hand in return. 

Smiling slightly, Pete nodded, leaning down and kissing the top of Lana’s head gently. 

Chloe’s eyes got teary as she watched the two, well three of them for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she looked over at Ollie and pursed her lips together.

He was already gazing at her, his chest tight. “Why don’t I go make the call?” he suggested softly, rising to his feet. 

“Make sure he has everything he needs,” Chloe told him quietly, looking up at Ollie as he stood.

“We have some equipment of our own,” Pete told them, moving to stand up too, “I will show you,” he told Oliver then looked down at his wife, “do you want him, or should I put him back on his crib? I think he’ll fall asleep again soon.”

“I’ll take him,” Lana said without hesitation, holding her arms out for the baby. 

Pete smiled a little and handed her their son carefully, kissing the top of her head again before pulling back and nodding at Oliver, “this way.” 

Oliver drew in a breath and followed Pete out of the room, feeling a little overwhelmed. 

Chloe watched them go then looked over at Lana, watching her with the baby before getting up from her chair and sitting on the edge of the bed, “how old is he?”

“Six months,” Lana told her with a soft smile. “Chloe, meet my son. This is Jonathan Lewis Ross.” 

Smiling softly, Chloe reached over and touched the baby’s arm carefully, “hi, Jonathan,” she said quietly, her eyes tearing again as she couldn’t help but think that that little boy might not have a chance to get to know his mom, “he’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Well, I think so, but I’m a little biased.” Lana chuckled softly. “Do you want to hold him?” 

Chloe hesitated for a moment then nodded, smiling softly, “sure,” she sat up a little and shifted closer, reaching for the baby, “I still can’t believe you and Pete are married and have a _son_.”

Lana smiled softly. “It was...unexpected,” she admitted, shifting the baby into her friend’s arms. 

She held her breath as she adjusted the baby in her arms, smiling softly down at him when he stared up at her with big eyes, “how did it happen?” She asked Lana quietly. 

She was quiet for a moment. “I ran into him outside of Washington D.C.,” she told her. “We had coffee together and then dinner.” She paused. “It was nice to be with someone who understood everything that I knew. And...the fact that we were already friends just made it much easier.” 

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded softly, she understood exactly what Lana was saying, because that was how she felt with Ollie, “I know what you mean,” she smiled softly, “I’m glad you found each other.”

“So am I.” She watched Chloe for a moment. “And I’m glad you and Oliver finally worked things out, too.” A soft smile touched her face. 

“Not you too,” Chloe said, smirking softly and mock rolling her eyes, “I think everyone is, no one could stand us anymore.” 

Lana smirked, as well. “Well, the dancing around one another was getting old. I was afraid I was going to have to come out of hiding just to point out the obvious.” 

“To be fair, I don’t know how much good it would have done,” she told Lana, smiling a little, “I should have known it was you, at least when you sent the France address, something should have clicked, but I never even considered...”

Lana nodded a little. “It’s okay, Chloe. You’ve had a lot going on. How’s he recovering?” Her voice grew softer. 

“Well,” Chloe told her with a nod, smiling as the baby held on to her finger, “he should be okay in another week or so, hopefully. We can’t afford not to have him in his best shape if we need to go after Lex.”

“I hope you know that we had no idea that it was a trap,” she said quietly. 

“Of course, Lana,” Chloe told her, frowning a little, “how _are_ you able to find all these things anyway?” She asked, sincerely curious as baby Jonathan shifted in her arms and tried to lift his little hand toward her hair.

“Lex isn’t the only one who can plant GPS devices and cameras,” she said with a tiny, faint smile. 

“Sneaky, Lana,” Chloe told her with a smile, nodding, “I’m glad someone has managed to, we have been looking everywhere and...” she shook her head a little, pursing her lips together, “do you have any idea where he is now?”

She sighed softly. “Unfortunately he seems to have found the last camera I planted,” she admitted, laying her head back against the pillows. 

Letting out a breath, Chloe sighed softly and nodded, her stomach dropping. The informant seemed to be the one person who had any idea about where Lex was and now that connection was gone too and for all they knew, he could be making his way to the headquarters. “J’onn, you probably know about him, he has been trying to help us, hopefully, with all his powers he will be able to find him sooner rather than later.”

“I hope so,” Lana said quietly, closing her eyes for a moment. “I wish I could help more, but I’m afraid my resources are just about tapped out.” 

“We will figure it out,” Chloe assured Lana, her voice firmer than before, then turning soft again, “you have much more important things to focus on.” 

“I need to know Lex isn’t a threat anymore.” Her voice grew softer. “Especially now.” 

“I know, I can only imagine how much more important that is for you now,” Chloe whispered quietly, glancing down at the baby, who was still looking up at her and playing with her finger, “but the three of you, you need to focus on your lives and especially on getting you better. Leave Lex to us.”

Lana smiled, but it was faint, sad. “Chloe....I’m not going to get better.” She was quiet for a moment. “But I am glad to know that the world can count on people like you and Oliver and the others.” 

Chloe’s chest tightened again, she didn’t know how bad it was, but she was going to remain hopeful until Dr. Hamilton looked at her friend, “we will help you, all three of you, with anything we can.”

She reached out and took Chloe’s free hand, offering her a small smile and then shifting her gaze to her son. “I know.” 

Swallowing hard, Chloe gave her hand a soft squeeze and watched as Jonathan turned his little head to look at his mom and giggled.

Lana smiled softly and brushed her fingers over his hair gently. “Would you mind taking him to Pete? I’m really tired,” she whispered.

“Not at all,” Chloe told her quietly, “get some rest, we can talk more when you wake up.”

“Thank you, Chloe,” she murmured, closing her eyes. 

Chloe watched Lana for a moment longer then stood up, adjusting the baby carefully as she did. She didn’t have much experience with babies, aside from occasionally babysitting her cousin Lucy when she and Lois were younger, she never really babysat and she had never been around anyone who had had a baby, so she could only hope she was holding him correctly. 

“Let's go find your dad,” she whispered to baby Jonathan as she walked out of the room and when he looked up at her with a toothless grin, she relaxed a little, at least he didn’t seem bothered by how she was carrying him.

Oliver was sitting in the living room when he heard footsteps approaching and he looked up to see Chloe holding baby Jonathan. He gazed at her intently, rising to his feet. “She asleep?” he whispered, hesitantly moving closer to her.

“Yeah,” Chloe whispered back, not sure why they were whispering until she heard Pete talking in the next room, “is he talking to Emil?”

He nodded slightly, looking down at the baby. “He looks pretty comfy.” A soft smile touched his lips. 

“Yeah,” Chloe said as the baby turned to look at Oliver, his eyes widening a little as he noticed a completely different person, “I think I’m holding him right...”

“You are,” he said softly, nodding a little and glancing at her once more. 

She paused at that and cocked her head, “and you would know, how?”

He smiled a bit. “When I thought you were...that we were...going to have a baby, I did a lot of research,” he confessed, with a small, awkward smile.

“Oh,” Chloe blinked, her stomach tightening again, but this time, not because she felt guilty about their miscommunication that day. This time it was because she suddenly felt what it would be like to be responsible for a tiny person like the one in her arms and with everything they had gone through lately and with Ollie getting hurt. She was even more grateful that she _hadn’t_ been pregnant.

Oliver leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, closing his eyes. “Come sit down,” he murmured.

Chloe nodded a little and let him lead her to the couch, sitting down slowly and shifting the baby in her arms. She glanced over in the direction of the room Pete was in and held her breath before looking at Ollie, “do you think it will work?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver said softly. “I hope so.” He looked toward the room, as well, his chest tightening. He hadn’t known the guy more than an hour, but the bond between him and Lana was obvious anyway. 

And he knew and understood the fear of losing the one person you loved more than anyone else.


	3. Chapter 3

**12 Avenue Louis Garros, France -- May 8, 2011**

Chloe and Oliver had stayed over at Lana and Pete’s for a few more hours the previous day, Lana had slept most of the time and Pete went between taking care of his son and catching up with Chloe. She had been able to tell that Pete was exhausted and terrified and she couldn’t blame him. At least, after his conversation with Emil, he seemed a little hopeful.

Apparently Emil had suggested a dialysis for Lana, with blood that had been infused with lead, the only thing able to block out kryptonite. He wasn’t sure how it would work, but he had gathered everything he would need and Ollie had rented a second jet to bring him to France. He should have arrived sometime in the very early morning and now, in the beginning of the afternoon, Chloe and Oliver were making their way back to the house.

They had stopped by and gotten groceries for the Rosses on their way, basic things they would need as well as food and Oliver had insisted on cooking everyone lunch, even if Chloe wasn’t sure it was a good idea since he wasn’t supposed to be walking around much, she promised to help him as long as he told her what to do.

“Do you have the keys?” She asked as they walked up to the house, Pete had given them their own keys the previous night, so they wouldn’t have to knock and risk waking baby Jonathan up if he was sleeping.

“Yeah, I’ve got them,” he said with a nod, pulling the keys from his pocket as he made his way toward the door. “And I really could have carried at least one of those bags, Chloe.” His voice was soft as he glanced back at her.

“It’s bad enough that you are walking,” she pointed out, raising her eyebrows at him, “and it’s not that heavy,” she told him, even though the bags were digging on her arms.

He arched an eyebrow at that and shook his head a little. “Uh huh.” He unlocked the door and stepped inside quietly.

She smirked a little at him then held her breath, walking inside silently and looking around as she made her way to the kitchen, there was no sign of anyone, anywhere.

“Must still be asleep,” he said softly. “Or just resting. I’ll get started on lunch.”

“I’ll help you,” she said in a whisper, “you think Emil spent the rest of the night here or do you think he made his way back to the inn?”

“They started her dialysis already, right?” He glanced at her. “He’s probably here.”

“I think that was the plan,” Chloe said with a nod, sighing in relief as she placed the groceries over one of the counters.

He reached out and took her hands in his, a small smile on his face as he lifted one of her arms to his mouth and kissed it softly. Then he did the same to her other arm.

Chloe raised her eyebrows and looked up at him, surprised as she watched him, smiling softly, “kissing it better?”

He grinned at her. “Something like that.” He kissed her forehead next.

Her face softened a little and she pulled her arms back then wrapped them around him. Seeing Pete and Lana and the pain in Pete’s eyes the previous day, it just made her even more grateful that Ollie was going to be okay.

Oliver rested a hand lightly on the back of her head, kissing her temple. “I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you too,” she told him quietly, tightening her arms around his back, but being careful not to press against his wound.

He leaned his head against hers for a long moment. He pulled away just enough to kiss her softly on the mouth, closing his eyes.

She returned the kiss just as softly, pulling back after a moment when she heard footsteps approaching, “I think someone is awake.”

He nodded and pulled back, as well. He turned to see Pete standing a few feet away, looking tired but still smiling. “Hey, Pete.” Oliver offered him a smile.

“Did you manage to get some rest?” Chloe asked, watching him as she adjusted her top.

“Some,” Pete said with a nod, smiling a little more, “mini me wanted to play at five in the morning, it was hard to get him back down.”

Oliver smiled at that. “Not quite sleeping through the night yet, huh?”

Chloe looked over at Oliver and raised her eyebrows a little, it was weird to hear him talking about baby stuff... she never imagined, even if he explained to her why, that he would know things like that. Not to mention, he looked so comfortable talking about it.

Pete shook his head, “he does sometimes, but usually he wakes up around four or five.”

Oliver nodded a little, leaning back against the counter. “Hopefully that’ll wear off before too much longer.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Pete agreed.

Chloe smiled softly, slightly awkward, “how is Lana?”

“Dr. Hamilton is still with her, she’s been out, though.” Pete said, lowering his voice.

“Is that good?” Oliver asked uncertainly, lowering his voice as well, glancing between Chloe and Pete.

Pete nodded a little, “it’s common, she gets tired easily and everything is painful for her so at least this way, she is comfortable.”

Chloe pursed her lips together and lifted a hand to Pete’s shoulder, rubbing it gently.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, his chest tightening. “Emil’s always been very good,” he said softly.

She nodded her agreement and smiled a little, reassuringly at Pete.

He tried his back to smile back at the two of them, “we don’t have anything to lose.”

Oliver looked down at the floor. “Well, are you hungry? I was thinking of fixing spaghetti.”

“Yeah, I could eat,” Pete agreed, “and I’m sure the Doctor will be hungry too, he’s been working since the second he got here.”

“All right. I’ll get to work then.” He offered the other man a small smile and moved to unload the groceries he and Chloe had picked up.

Chloe frowned a little and stopped him, “let me know what you need and I’ll get it for you.”

He reached out and rested a hand atop hers. “I’m all right,” he whispered.

She looked up at him and frowned, watching him for a moment, “let me help,” she pressed, holding his gaze.

Oliver held her gaze for a moment, then nodded slightly. "All right." He kissed her forehead then smiled faintly. "Need to find the spaghetti sauce, and the pasta." He glanced around the numerous bags of groceries.

Pete looked at the two of them for a moment, "do you need anything else?"

Chloe turned to look at him and smiled a little, shaking her head, "no, go be with Lana and Jonathan, we will let you know when the food is ready."

He watched her for a moment and let out a quiet breath in relief, "thanks, Chlo."

Oliver watched him head away, his chest feeling tight once more. "This is awful," he said almost inaudibly.

She let out a breath and closed the sliding doors that separated the kitchen from the dining room, pursing her lips together she turned to Oliver again, "I know," she said quietly, "I hope that whatever Emil is doing works."

"Me too," he said softly, not quite meeting her eyes.

Chloe, pursed her lips together and walked over to the groceries then started unpacking them, placing everything that she thought Ollie would need over the counter, "I know it's a long shot," she said quietly, mostly thinking out loud, "but if he can at least buy her some time, maybe he will have time to research something else."

Oliver was silent for a moment, then wordlessly he reached out and pulled her to him, dipping his head and kissing her urgently as his eyes drifted shut.

Although she was caught by surprise, she didn't hesitate before wrapping her arms around him and returning the kiss, slower for a second then with just as much urgency.

After a long moment, he reluctantly pulled away, letting out a shuddering breath. "Don't you ever die on me," he whispered harshly.

Her chest tightened at his words and she held him tighter, "it goes both ways."

Oliver kissed her again, this time much more softly, brushing his nose lightly against hers. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ollie," she whispered, rubbing her hands slowly against his back, "and we both need to be a lot more careful."

"Deal," he whispered, reaching up to cup her cheek in one hand.

Chloe leaned into his touch and let out a breath, still holding his gaze, "go sit down while I finish getting things out of the way," she suggested quietly, placing her hand on his side, below where she knew his wound was.

He kissed her cheek softly, resting his forehead against hers for a moment before reluctantly pulling away. "All right," he agreed just as quietly, moving to sit down at the kitchen table.

She gave him a quick smile then turned back to the counter, putting the groceries away as she opened every cabinet in the kitchen to try and figure out the most likely place where they should go. She couldn't wait to talk to Dr. Hamilton and ask him what he thought about Lana's situation, but she knew it was probably better if they had that conversation when Pete wasn't around.

Oliver sat at the table, watching her intently as she moved around the kitchen. He rested his chin on one hand, imagining for a moment that the house they were in was theirs, and he wondered what it would be like if it was true.

* * *

They ate about two hours later and after lunch, Pete went to put baby Jon down for a nap and that was their chance to talk to Emil alone. Chloe took a deep breath as they still sat by the kitchen table, "how is she doing?" She asked the doctor carefully, in a quiet voice.

Emil glanced from Chloe to Oliver and then back again. "She's very weak," he said quietly. "But I think there's some hope. After everything we've seen, I refuse to believe otherwise."

Chloe let her breath out and nodded a little, sitting back against her chair, "that's good to hear."

Oliver reached out and rested his hand atop hers, lacing their fingers together as he looked over at her. "Always hope," he murmured.

She glanced over at him and smiled slightly before turning back to Emil, "how long do you think it will be before you have a definite answer?"

"I honestly don't know. It depends on how she responds to the dialysis treatments, and what kind of improvement, if any, that she exhibits." Emil offered a small, faint smile. "I wish I had more definite answers for you."

Chloe nodded a little and smiled at him, "the fact that it might work is good enough for now," she assured him, squeezing Ollie's hand.

He nodded, as well. "I should be heading back to the hotel, but please tell Lana and Pete I'll be back this evening to check in with them and see how she's doing." He rose to his feet.

Nodding slightly, Chloe smiled up at him, "we will, get some rest."

An amused smile touched Emil's mouth. "I do think that's supposed to be _my_ line," he said with a wink before heading toward the door.

Chloe grinned softly and waved at him then turned back to Ollie, "you need rest too."

"Does this mean Nurse Chloe is in the house?" he teased.

She smirked softly at that and leaned closer, kissing his cheek, "go lay down on the couch, I'll clean up here and join you later."

"I can do the dishes," he said with a small frown. "I won't be stretching any muscles or anything."

"You'll still be walking, besides, doing the dishes doesn't involve fire, I _think_ I can handle it." She teased, smiling at him.

Oliver smirked at her. "As long as there are no sharp knives in the dish water," he teased back, reluctantly rising to his feet.

"Hey, I can handle sharp objects," she told him, "never got hurt with one of your arrows, have I?"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Better knock on wood now, just to be safe."

Chloe smirked and knocked on the table, "there, feel better now?"

"Yes." He grinned at her, winked and headed into the living room to lie down on the couch.

She watched him for a moment then stood up and started taking the dishes to the table. Luckily, there weren't a lot of them so she should be done quickly. She couldn't imagine what the past few months must have been like for Pete, taking care of a newborn baby, taking care of Lana and trying to do stuff around the house. She wanted to make sure they did as much as they could for them while they were there because she knew they would have to go back soon and resume their search for Lex.

Oliver found himself gazing at the pictures in frames on the coffee table. Pictures of Pete, of Lana, of the two of them together, and many, many more of them with Jonathan. He reached out and picked one of them up, gazing at it intently as his mind drifted off.

Once Jonathan was asleep, Pete made his way back out of their room, he was about to check in on Lana when he noticed Oliver standing in the living room, he stepped closer, smiling tiredly when he noticed the picture in his hand, "that was when we first brought him home."

He glanced over at Pete with a small smile. "How long did you guys have to wait to bring him home?" he asked, wondering if everything with the birth had gone normally considering Lana's condition at the time.

"Almost four weeks," Pete admitted, sliding his hands into his pockets, "he was born early, two days short of eight months."

"Oh," he said softly. "But everything was okay? Normal?"

Pete nodded, "he was small, a lot smaller than he should have been, but healthy, he wasn't infected as far as we know."

Oliver met his eyes and nodded, as well. "That's good," he said, pausing for a moment. "Can I ask you something?"

Raising his eyebrows, Pete nodded, "go ahead."

"When you ran into Lana again...after all that time." He shook his head a little. "How long before the two of you wound up together?"

"It didn't take long," he told him, walking over to one of the chairs and sitting down, "after we ran into each other, we were seeing each other every day and about a week or so later, I kissed her and... that's how it started."

A smile tugged at his mouth and he sat down on the sofa, across from him. "Were you surprised?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah," Pete grinned a little and shrugged, "never thought I'd have a shot with Lana, she was always... Clark's girl before."

Oliver paused at that, considering for a moment how much that resonated with him, as well. "Well, you two seem pretty good together."

Pete sat back against his chair and nodded, "thanks, I think so too," he told Oliver then nodded toward the kitchen, "so do you and Chloe."

He smiled a bit. "Thank you," he said softly, looking toward the kitchen.

"I knew things were gonna work out," Pete admitted, lowering his voice, "the way Chloe seemed to be pushing you away, it was obvious she was in love with you."

A wry smile touched his lips and he looked down for a moment. "I know. She was scared," he agreed quietly.

"Good for you for not giving up," Pete said sincerely, smiling at Oliver.

He glanced at Pete once more, his eyes filled with warmth. "Thanks. I don't think I ever would have," he admitted.

Pete smirked a little and nodded, "that's what I wanna hear."

Oliver smirked as well, then shook his head a little. "How long before you knew Lana was the one you wanted to be with for good?" he asked, his voice dropping even more.

"Pretty much since we ran into each other," Pete admitted, "just sounded like a good plan and then when I figured out she was interested, there was no doubt in my mind."

He gazed at the other man for a long moment, nodding a little. "Yeah, I get that," he murmured.

Pete studied Oliver for a moment and nodded too, "sounds familiar?" He asked.

"It's been on my mind for awhile now," he confessed.

"Does she have any idea?"

"I don't think so, no," he murmured, shaking his head.

Pete chuckled at that and nodded, "good luck, man."

"You've known her a lot longer than I have." Oliver gazed at him. "How much luck am I going to need?"

After looking in the direction of the kitchen, Pete shook his head a little, "hard to tell, I haven't been around Chloe lately often enough to really know, but after everything that happened last time, I think you might be faced with another battle here."

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, leaning back in his chair. "Because of Jimmy?" His voice was barely audible.

Pete nodded, looking at Oliver for a moment, "how hung up is she on that still?"

He paused. "She doesn't really talk about it," he said softly.

"Maybe you should check on that before you do anything," Pete told him, "or ask Lois."

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face, nodding a little even as his chest tightened. He glanced toward the kitchen again, then back at Pete. "Yeah. Probably."

Pete nodded a little and smiled, "for what it's worth, she looks happier than I've ever seen her with anyone before."

He paused. "Even Clark?" His voice dropped even more. He knew she and Clark had never _technically_ been together, but he wondered if she had been happy before he'd ever come into the picture--playing sidekick to just Clark.

At that, Pete frowned and looked at Oliver as if he'd lost his mind, "you're kidding."

He shrugged a little and looked back at him silently.

"Man..." Pete shook his head and smiled humorlessly at Oliver, "Clark is my friend and all, but back in school, Chloe was miserable because of him."

Oliver frowned a little at that. "Oh."

"It wasn't on purpose," Pete assured him, "but Clark was in love with Lana, Chloe was in love with him," he shrugged and smirked a little, "and I had a massive crush on Chloe, just typical high school stuff."

A small smile tugged at his lips as he nodded. "Right," he said, pausing. "Things are a lot different for all of us than they were in high school."

"Good thing too," Pete told Oliver and stood up, "I should go check on Lana, see if she woke up," he told him, then lowered his voice, "but if you want my opinion, even if she freaks out at first, you're gonna be fine."

Oliver smiled. "I appreciate that, Pete. Thanks."

He patted Oliver's arm then nodded before making his way out of the living room and down the hallway.

Oliver watched him go then turned to look as Chloe emerged from the kitchen. He smiled softly at her. "I'm resting," he teased, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"No, you're _sitting_ ," she told him, raising her eyebrows, "who were you talking to?"

"Sitting, resting. Potato, potato." His eyes twinkled as he grinned. "I was talking to Pete."

"Uh huh," she told him, sitting down next to him, "how is he doing?" Chloe asked, raising her eyebrows a little, Pete had been quiet during lunch and although she didn't know if it was because he was tired or because it was just how Pete was now, it was a big contrast to the Pete she'd grown up with.

Oliver slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side and kissing her temple. "He's hopeful," he whispered.

"That's good," Chloe told him, leaning into his side, "out of everyone, he'd know how Lana is doing."

Nodding a little, his arm tightened around her for a brief moment. "How are _you_ doing?" he asked very softly.

Chloe took a deep breath and smiled softly at him, "I wish there was more we could do."

He searched her eyes, nodding. "I do, too," he whispered.

She nodded a little, holding his gaze, "thank you for helping me help them," she told him quietly, Ollie barely even knew Lana and he had never met Pete before, of course she knew helping strangers was what he did, but this was different.

Oliver lifted his hand to her cheek. "You're welcome."

Leaning into his touch, she watched him for a long moment then leaned closer and kissed him softly.

He kissed her back without hesitation, resting his forehead against hers.

Chloe leaned her forehead against his and brushed her nose against his and smiled slightly before shifting closer and wrapping her arms around him.

Oliver hugged her in return, kissing the top of her head and resting his chin there.

She relaxed against him and closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath and rubbing his back gently. She had been so glad to have him there with her, she wasn't sure she was going to be able to be strong enough for Lana and Pete otherwise; all of their news had been pretty overwhelming to her, especially all at once, but having Oliver there to lean on as she processed everything made it all a lot easier to deal with.


End file.
